0:04:07 George talks about Yosemite, the latest Apple operating system. See the EWABS Facebook group to see how it’s working for people.

0:05:46 Harry Schearer is now teaching VO. http://harryshearer.com/ He’s the artist in residence at Loyola University.

0:06:57 George talks about the new Acon Digital app for getting rid of clicks. It’s called the “Restoration Suite” for getting rid of clicks, clips and a de-noiser, all for $99. http://acondigital.com/products/restoration-suite/

0:07:59 World Voices Organization (WoVO) held it’s annual meeting online last week. This year’s accomplishments: 501c status, first conference, meetup groups worldwide, new slogan (“We speak for those who speak for a living”), new logo, new job search site, new organization website, reference materials, and membership doubled in the last year. Coming soon: Tech certification of personal studios.

0:10:49 George takes care of a question from last week about the Avalon mic pre-amp. It’s complicated, and George sorts through it. “If it sounds good it is good.” One option: The Behringer UCA 202 http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UCA202.aspx or you have spend a lot more money. The Apogee duet analog to digital converter is in the middle, about $600.

0:13:42 Dan shows the iTrack Solo. The high-end gear is for rock musicians.

0:14:31 Jerry Reed asks how to record while Skyping in Linux. George replies. He uses Call Recorder by Ecamm (http://www.ecamm.com/mac/callrecorder/), which is for Mac. On Windows, George likes Pamela for Skype: http://www.pamela.biz/en/

0:29:47 Chris Heward, from Edmunton, Alberta, Canada. He talks about his work in stand up comedy.

0:34:02 Dan asks what it’s like hanging out with other comedians. Chris tells the tale.

0:37:33 Chris realizes he wanted to try acting and started taking lessons. He hit voice-over and got a job from his very first audition. Chris tells some fun stories about his work.

0:40:28 Chris tells the story about working for a filmmaker who turned out to be a serial killer. Chris spent 3 weeks knowing the police were gathering information and having a deadline for him to come up with money for the film.

0:44:59 Chris was on some US TV shows about the incident.

0:46:19 George asked how this whole experience influenced Chris’ VO career. Chris contacted George and asked him about gear. Chris decided to go online to find out what Don Lafontaine had in his studio. Chris finally found George who told him not to buy expensive gear.

0:48:57 Dan asks what Chris has in his studio. Gear talk ensues. Chris geared up before he thought about having a studio.

0:51:38 And the moral of the story…followed by more gear talk.

0:52:52 Chris talks about finding a VO coach. He ended up doing a show at the Laugh Factory and now it’s his “home club.” He met MJ Lallo who coached him a real short notice.

0:17:32 Dan asks Steve about cutting edge stuff. What he’s finding cool is Apogree 1, Version 2, for iOS and Mac: http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/one. He clamps it onto the auto theft prevention device, the Club.

0:19:30 ipDTL discussion. Then George brings up Apogee and Avid’s partnership.

0:20:40 Discussion about new microphones showing up at AES.

0:21:12 Mike Varela joins the group.http://nuancetone.com/

0:21:40 Mike’s first reply about new, cool stuff: NOT Yosemite, the new OS for Mac. There’s an issue with ProTools 10.

0:23:37 Break. VO Studio Tech and a bunch of bumpers.

0:25:58 They’re back. Mike had another item: Time Warner is updating modems in L.A.

0:27:14 Dan suggests they talk about whether personal studio audio is improving. We go around the horn, starting with Uncle Roy. His concern is pacing of audiobooks. Juan talks about tools improving vs. education for commercials. Part of the issue is finding out what your sound should be.

0:30:32 George talks about US setting trends.

0:30:45 Uncle Roy on fads, followed by Juan Carlos on too many plug-ins.

0:31:25 Cliff jumps in. He likes that VO talent is understanding it’s the environment where they record.

0:32:32 Steve finds older more established VO tend not to be open to learning how to use their gear. George chimes in about established talent attitude about gear knowledge.

0:50:34 Jordan likes George’s stacks because they’re subtle. The risk is if the room changes and the downward expander can clip off ends of words.

0:52:00 Jordan talks about what he hears at auditions with deep-voiced guys, you don’t need to boost their deep voices deeper.

0:53:25 Jordan says cutting low end is more favorable than boosts and makes top end sound brighter.

0:54:30 Uncle Roy talks about adding music and how this processing affects sound.

0:55:10 Michelangelo and VO, by Cliff.

0:56:00 Dan says the chat room has maxed out for the first time ever!

0:56:22 Break. Home Studio Master.

0:57:34 Whence came these two radiant celestial brothers… and bumpers.

0:58:16 They’re back. Harlan Hogan time. His gear doesn’t suck! His products are designed specially for voice-over. Use the EWABS webpage to link to Harlan’s page, http://www.ewabs.net/

1:01:06 Time now for audience questions. Q: How do I remove those slight peaks before normalizing? Is there a way to automate this work? Mike says use a limiter in post production. Keep threshold and ceiling the same. Jordan likes the Tone Boosters Barricade, a plug-in. http://www.toneboosters.com/tb-barricade/ It costs €19.95 (euros). Another is the Fab Filter Pro L (http://www.fabfilter.com/products/pro-l-brickwall-limiter-plug-in).

1:05:36 Cliff says ProTools now has a “clip gain” tool. He’s afraid to have something doing everything for him.

1:07:25 Q: Is there a way in Twisted Wave to edit out breaths and replace with silence? A: George says you have to do it by hand. Uncle Roy says breaths are part of the performance. George says use the Amplify tool (F). Don’t silence.

1:09:24 Mike says to record 10-15 of room tone at the top of the recording. Wear headphones and listen to it. Zoom in to see wave forms.

1:12:47 Q: What do you believe if all the engineers don’t agree. A: Cliff, pick what you want to eat for dinner. Mike adds that a professional will add to another professional’s opinion, not run them down. Juan Carlos adds that this a technical art.

1:16:25 Steve says ultimately there’s no one way to do anything in recording. George adds that asking someone whose opinion you trust is a way to solve confusion.

1:17:34 Dan says it’s a matter of perspective, depending on what you do in the business. Does it sound good?

1:18:14 Juan Carlos talks about tech are another aspect of artistic expression.

1:18:48 Q: I’ve worked with video producers who muck up the audio. Should I mention something or walk away? A: Uncle Roy comments. Juan Carlos says it depends on your role—just VO?—walk away.

1:23:30 Q: Where should I record my demos, personal studio or other? A: Cliff says the quality of your demo should reflect the quality you offer day to day.

1:24:46 Juan Carlos is torn. Ad agencies in LA expect you to record the job away from your personal studio. Cliff adds that most of his contact is with non-LA talent. Jordan talks about building a demo remote.

-Steve — don’t be afraid of the tools, the worst that can happen is that you have to re-record. Get in there and get your hands dirty. Have fun.

-Cliff — learn and practice as much as you can, give us audio that needs to least amount of work. Follow file label requirements to the letter.

-Mike — spend the time, it’s a career choice. Things come with time. Be humble. Listen with open ears. Analyze. Ask questions. Weigh the advice you get. Check out linda.com on EQ compression, tutorials on Audacity and other programs.

-Jordan — Motto: Acoustics Always Trump Gear. Take the time to learn, but don’t fall for “must have” gear. If you don’t know what it is, you probably don’t need it.

-Roy — If it’s not broken don’t fix it. There’s more to life than plug-ins. Leave some breaths in! A discussion of air follows. Remember your settings and experiment. Ask questions.

-George — At AES Focal Press was there with books. One title that might help: Recording Secrets for the Small Studio, by Mike Senior. It’s more than you need to know. It’s for “project studios” like VO actors use.

0:03:53 News: EWABS got nominated for a Voice Arts Award. Neither Dan nor George can go if they win, so they’re looking for a NYC VO person to go.

0:04:58 Acon Digital has a new app called the Restoration Suite for getting rid of clicks, clips and a de-noiser, all for $99. http://acondigital.com/products/restoration-suite/

0:05:54 Mackey is announcing a budget line of mixers. http://www.mackie.com/products/mixers/index.html

0:06:57 Source Elements is announced Source Net, their own managed internet connection to replace ISDN for Source-Connect Now users.

0:08:56 George shows a video from the AES show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDdZVnJJMF0.

0:20:36 Break. HomeStudioMaster.com, plus Sponge Bob.

0:22:05 They back. Dan has a webinar this week on VoiceOverXtra on audio quality for auditions. Go to http://bit.ly/AuditionAudioWebinar to sign up.

0:23:30 Dan’s tip of the week on normalizing.

0:23:56 Tip of the Week: Normalization

0:29:42 Discussion follows. Write to us at ewabshop@gmail.com with questions.

0:30:42 Break. VO Studio Tech. And a bumper.

0:32:49 They’re back with Randy Thomas.

0:33:50 Dan asks for her background. Randy tells the story of being a kid who loved radio who got into radio as a career. That led to her booking voice-over for the Oscars, being the first woman to do this.

0:38:37 She talks about Entertainment Tonight and how her copy was taller than she is.

0:39:35 Dan asks Randy how she made the transition from broadcasting to voice-over. Randy does the Emmys, AFI, Oscars, SAG, Tonys. She kicked the door open for women. Other women now get the bookings.

0:42:01 Dan asks what they’re looking for in these auditions. They mostly wanted to know how she’d handle “live” before a huge audience.

0:43:09 Dan asks about subtleties of reading live for the Oscars. Randy comments about how pre-recorded energy isn’t the same as live.

0:44:50 George talks about what it’s like in the control room during a live show.

0:45:18 Randy tells about a year she did the Oscars when Cuba Gooding Jr. pumped up the whole show with his energy. She’s been at the Tonys the last 16 years and how that show has won Emmys for a live show.

0:47:17 George asks what she hears in her headphones during the show. Randy talks about hearing all the show cues from the director. She gets the live feed in one side, and the other has the director. Then, once she was cued, she swaps so she can hear herself enunciate.

0:50:00 George talks about his first season doing tech for Eagles football games and how intense it was.

0:50:37 Randy adds that it’s a job staying focused and in the zone.

0:51:30 What about being on-camera while announcing live?

0:52:20 Dan asks what other work Randy does. She describes her imaging work.

0:54:20 Randy talks about long-form narration and how much work it is. She likes working in a 15 or 30 second format. But also likes exploring different forms of VO.

0:55:37 Dan talks about Randy’s teaching. Randy talks about her daughter growing up and that led to her think about what’s next…She’s started doing public speaking and on her first big conference, “The VO Mastery Event,” Nov. 14-16. http://www.randythomaspresents.com/

1:01:10 Edge and EWABS listeners there’s an extra $50 off the conference.

1:02:05 Harlan Hogan time! Hear about the great gear Harlan has for VO, including the signature headphones.

1:04:00 Randy tells about the sponsors of her conference and specials they’re offering, including audition opportunities and gear giveaways.

1:07:57 Q: Did you have trouble getting an agent at first? A: Definitely. She was a disc jockey. That all changed when she booked the Oscars. Today, there are many ways to go. If you’re not union, you don’t really need an agent.

1:09:12 Q: How do auditions work for live-announce gigs. A: Different ways. Any show from a particular city, belongs there. E.g., Kennedy Center Honors, is done by D.C. area talent. She originally got the Tonys while living in L.A. An agent is key, BUT—a few years ago, the MTV awards were cast off an online site.

1:12:19 Q: Are women better reading live with a voice in their ear? A: Randy talks about Hooked on Phonics.

1:14:40 Q: Is there one gig that stands out more than others? A: Randy talks about being in the moment and working for Entertainment Tonight.

1:18:20 Q: How do you prepare for a big live event? A: Randy shows the book for this year’s Tonys. She uses essential oils by Young Living Essential Oils, http://living-essential-oils.com/?gclid=COWAy8zCrMECFQqQaQodvGIAqg on her tongue or on her skin to relax her and keep her throat comfortable.

10Oct

00:0000:00

Published on Oct 6, 2014

New York City based voice actor Anthony Mendez shares his tail of success in VO, and takes a HUGE number of questions from the audience. Dan and George answer fan questions from the email bag, and George has a Whittam's World on Shotgun microphones. Plus a bit of VO Tech News to kick off the show...

0:06:25 Joe Cipriano is looking for better internet connection. George helped him and found California Internet http://cainternet.net/. They provide “the last mile” to Joe’s house with microwave. The downside is you need line of sight from the tower with the signal. Another vendor: Towerstream (http://www.towerstream.com/)

0:09:06 Satellite is another option, but latency (delay) may be an issue. Microwave has very low latency. Satellite can add 2 sec. of latency. This could be an issue with Skype and ipDTL.

0:10:32 Q: What are your opinions on ipDTL? A: Dan discusses. A common question is how do you record at your end? Dan mentions SoundFlower. http://soundflower.en.softonic.com/mac. Others: Audio Hijack https://www.rogueamoeba.com/audiohijackpro/

0:12:40 This will be a year of transition, George predicts.

0:13:20 Q: Resources for newbies.

0:13:50 George plays the question.

0:14:58 George and Dan answer. (The question came via Speakpipe. To send in a spoken question, go to http://www.ewabs.net/, scroll down to the SEND QUESTION sideways tab you’ll see.) First, great audio quality! But, if you don’t have a budget for training, you may not be able to start a VO business. Lots of coaches work remotely.

0:16:23 Start at Episode 1 of EWABS. Or, google “EWABS coach” and you’ll see every issue of EWABS where a coach was on.

0:17:19 Break. VO Studio Tech. Larry Davis bumper.

0:18:45 Dan has a webinar coming up on October 15 on VoiceOverXtra (http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs110/1102478472127/archive/1118561011103.html)

Dan will talk about audio quality for auditions.

0:20:13 Tip of the Week: Using sound codes for audio recording and editing.

0:26:22 George tries out another sound!

0:27:01 Write to Dan if you have a Tip of the Week topic at ewabshop@gmail.com.

0:27:47 Break. Home Studio Master and Sponge Bob.

0:29:12 They’re back with Marc Cashman. http://www.cashmancommercials.com/ Dan recalls the last time Marc was on, giving Dan directions for a read. See Episode 139, April 7, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGfhFMIT_wY

0:29:55 Marc shows his new book, V-Oh!, 35 years in the making. http://www.amazon.com/V-Oh-Tricks-Techniques-Sustain-Voiceover/dp/0990395804/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1412091907&sr=8-2&keywords=V-Oh!

0:30:40 The book is a compilation of 15 years’ worth of writing, plus 25 percent more.

0:34:39 Dan asks for an example of a tidbit from the book. Marc talks about the chapter called “The Sounds of Punctuation.” Punctuation has sounds! Marc explains.

0:36:45 We are voice actors and our audience is “blind.” They can’t see us. We have to compensate. Sometimes it comes down to the “sound” of a punctuation mark.

0:37:55 Dan recounts his favorite tip, that the script isn’t in stone. Marc says you just have to know when it’s appropriate to know where the script IS in stone.

0:38:50 Audiobooks and plays are in stone. Legal copy is set. E-learning modules have to be right to the letter.

0:39:53 You can change advertising copy, if you’re judicious about it. Don’t be a VO lemming. Correct obvious mistakes.

0:41:08 Q: Is there an audiobook version of the book? A: That’s his last big project of the year.

0:42:26 Dan asks how much voice work Marc does himself. Marc says it varies month to month. Every day is different.

0:43:42 Dan talks about taking classes. What is teaching a class like?

0:44:07 Marc is going on 15 years of teaching. He recounts how he got into it. Through substituting for another teacher, he began developing a curriculum and syllabus.

0:45:45 Now his classes are in a professional, commercial studio with an engineer to record the work and direction. Classes are on Saturdays and include mid week homework, and other material like scripts and articles.

0:50:07 Example: Al Pacino wants to go back to stage acting, to be on the wire without a net. Marc knows VO actors who are in workout groups that meet regularly to keep honed. He brings the tough scripts he has trouble with to those groups.

0:52:15 It’s Harlan Hogan’s birthday. To help EWABS, use the banner ad at www.ewabs.net to reach Voiceover Essentials. There’s now a lot of video content at Harlan’s site. See the Digital Media library at http://voiceoveressentials.com/

0:55:06 They’re back with questions for Marc. Q: Discuss the process of taking eyes off the script. A: Marc discusses. As an aside, he’s developed techniques to help actors with dyslexia. Marc asks his students to take eyes off the script for cut lines and key phrases.

0:57:12 Marc describes stage actors learning to “throw” or “lift” lines without reading the script. Get off the script whenever you can. The last line is one natural place to do that. To not sound like you’re reading, don’t read!

0:58:58 Keep your eyes on the script when the copy is dense. But for short lines, there’s no need to read them. Anytime you can get your eyes off the page without losing your place, you’ll sound sincere.

1:00:08 Q: What are you thoughts about ad libbing? A: Be judicious. When they say “be conversational,” you can ADD (not change what’s on the page)—enhance rather than change. You’re not an editor or copywriter, you’re an actor whose job is to bring copy to life. “You know,” “you see,” and so on, can be added when appropriate and be judicious. Pick your places. And make it better.

1:02:52 Q: Please talk about things to keep in mind when you self direct? A: Marc talks about working in a vacuum, as we do when we’re in our booths.

1:04:05 How many takes is too many? When it starts sounding studied. Sometimes you won’t know until you listen back during editing. Other times, you may need to take a break.

1:06:45 Q: Can Marc read a passage from the book? A: Marc reads from page 162:

1:07:22 A 21st Century Rant. How to say the year we’re in.

1:10:07 Q: What is “tough stuff” for you? A: Marc discusses how really short copy is really hard for him.

1:11:46 Also, poorly written copy is hard and he refuses to audition for it.

1:12:42 Marc’s book is at Amazon and his website, cashmancommercials.com. Coming soon: the ebook on Kindle. The audiobook is coming.

1:14:18 Break. VoiceoverXtra. And several bumpers.

1:15:33 They’re back with announcements.

1:59:59 George’s mom and Ella are in the studio.

1:16:51 New sponsor: Narratorhelper.com, which can help audiobook narrators with post production work, proofing, and pre-reading. Amy Whittam does this.

0:38:30 Jon talks about “reverse engineering” to get to his character voices.

0:40:18 Dan says Jon did “W” a lot at FaffCon.

0:41:00 George asks Jon about improv has helped his VO work.

0:42:27 Dan talked about “ad libbing” your auditions. Jon comments. He does three takes: the first just like he thinks the client wants, second—goes with gut, third he just improvs and maybe not even what’s in the script.

0:43:34 Jon has a YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGCMI16WgJejAfG60N4Nhyg He’s gotten work from it. And he has free tutorials there. His first manager found him through it.